Distraction
by DaveTrain
Summary: Janice Rand reports for duty aboard the USS Enterprise, but finds her commanding officer more than a little distracting. Kirk/Rand. Coincides with events from my previous fic, The Sarah Spencer
1. Reporting for Duty

"Look out!"

Startled by the cry, Janice Rand whipped around just in time to see the anti-grav sled loaded with heavy crates barreling toward her down the cargo ramp. She saw a heavy cargo stack knocked aside by the sled, the contents spilling over the cargo bay floor as the unit picked up speed.

Janice dropped the padd she'd been writing on, turning to dodge even as she realized that there was no possibility of getting out of the way in time. With a grimace she shut her eyes and waited for the heavy weight of the sled to crush her.

A heavy weight did hit her then, but from behind her. The anti-grav sled was suddenly shooting past and she was flat on her back on the floor, her head spinning. The sled slammed against the cargo bay's far wall, the crates stacked on top of it flying every which way.

Gradually she became aware of a pair of arms around her. Bare, well-muscled arms. Looking up, she found herself gazing into a pair of startling blue eyes...

* * *

_Several hours earlier..._

_I must look like a fool_, Janice thought to herself when she realized she couldn't stop smiling. For perhaps the hundredth time she looked down again at the padd with her new orders.

"Rand, Janice. Crewman 3rd class. U.S.S. _Enterprise_ NCC-1701."

_Finally._

It'd been nearly a year and a half since Janice had passed basic training at the Starfleet Training Center. She'd applied immediately for starship duty, but had been given nothing but Earth assignments. Now, after the destruction seven Starfleet ships at the Battle of Vulcan, the fleet needed all the able crewman it could get.

Janice's leg bounced up and down as she waited on the bench at the transfer station. Her eyes flicked back to the padd once more.

"U.S.S. _Enterprise_ NCC-1701. As of Stardate 2258.91, assigned to Operational Support Services."

A job in supply. Not very glamorous, but at least starship duty. And on the _flagship_ no less.

She'd of course heard about the exploits of the_ Enterprise _in the wake of the Battle of Vulcan. The newsnets had been filled with little else in the days after the attack. For the past two months the _Enterprise _had rested in drydock undergoing repairs to her warp drive and spaceframe in the wake of the battle. Now she had finally been christened and put under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, the youngest Captain in Starfleet history.

From the desk in front of her, the transfer officer read aloud from his computer screen.

"Group 3 report to transporter room 18 for transfer to the _Enterprise._"

Janice rose from the bench and shouldered her duffel, heading for the transporter room with five others who were also apparently assigned to the _Enterprise. _As she entered the transporter room and stepped onto the pad, she glanced around. All enlisted, like her. And all male. Four humans and a vaguely avian looking being with a stout beak and tiny beaded eyes.

The transporter operator seated at the console nodded at an unheard voice in her ear. "Acknowledged, _Enterprise_. Energizing."

The dark groundside transporter room disappeared in a haze of light, only to be replaced with the clean, brightly lit transporter room of the _Enterprise_. From behind the console, a red-shirted lieutenant rose and stepped forward, carrying a padd.

"Welcome to the_ Big E_. My name is Lieutenant Kyle." The officer motioned with his padd toward the deck in front of the transporter. "Muster here if you would, please. Respond when I call out your name, and standby for your living assignment. Abrams, Robert..."

"Here sir."

Janice adjusted the duffel on her shoulder as she stepped off the transporter to the deck. She glanced around the transporter room, admiring the sleek lines and factory-fresh equipment as Kyle continued to read off names and room assignments.

"Rand, Janice."

She straightened up and came to attention. "Here, sir."

"Deck 12. Room 3C 46. Um...Uuvu'it, Hrrii'ush...?"

The birdlike being to Janice's right chirped in the affirmative.

"Deck 12. Room 4B 16. Welcome aboard everyone. Company dismissed."

Janice eagerly hefted her duffel and headed out into the corridor.

* * *

The cargo bay of the _Enterprise _was filled with busy crewmen. The cargo transporters hummed constantly as new supplies were brought onboard, and Janice hastily dodged an anti-grav sled steered by a bored-looking Megazoid as she descended a ramp to the lower level. Finding the man she was looking for supervising the unloading of a pallet of sensor modules, she snapped to attention beside him.

"Crewman 3rd class Janice Rand, reporting for duty, Chief."

The burly red-shirted man looked up from a padd and glanced at the new arrival.

"Chief Petty Officer Chase," he responded. "You're from supply, right?"

Janice smiled. "Yes, Chief. I-"

"Great." the burly Chief replied. He rummaged for a moment on a nearby deck full of padds. "We're shorthanded until the rest of the crew gets onboard."

The Chief apparently found what he was looking for, and turned back to her, a padd in hand. "I'll need you to inventory all the spare parts we've taken on today before we can stow them. Start with the pallets at the bottom of the ramp and work your way toward the port side."

He pressed the padd into her hands and turned back to what he was doing. Janice stood there for a moment, before shrugging and booting up the inventory checklist on the small vidscreen.

She'd been at the inventory for nearly two hours, and Janice's head was spinning with numbers and manifests. She set the padd down to rub her eyes when she noticed him.

He was standing near her at the cargo transporter waiting for the rematerialization of several heavy crates. After the freight arrived, he started handing the packages over to several other crewman, loading up an anti-grav sled. All of them were sweating from the work, and several had removed their uniform shirts, including him. Taking in the view, Janice was certainly glad he had.

The man was thin, but not overly so, and it was clear that there wasn't an ounce of fat on him. Janice stared as the man picked up another crate, his muscles rippling as he hefted it over to another crewman. Straightening up, he ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair and stood a moment to catch his breath. Looking at the crewman's handsome face, Janice couldn't help but feel she knew him from somewhere.

Just then the man glanced up and caught Janice's gaze. His eyes were the most brilliant blue she thought as he flashed her a grin. Blushing, she brought her attention back to the inventory, typing into the padd. Looking up after a minute, she saw the man was still looking at her, and still wearing that lopsided grin.

"Look out!" Chief Chase hollered.

Janice was knocked flat on her back before the anti-grav sled the careless Megazoid crewmember had lost control of hit her. Regaining her senses, she found herself staring up at the deep blue eyes of the smiling crewman.

"Are you all right?" he asked, still kneeling over her.

"Yeah," she answered, looking up at him. God, he had a nice smile. He seemed so familiar...

The man straightened up and wiped the dust from the cargo bay floor off his hands before offering her one to help her up.

"Thank you," she said, letting him haul her to her feet. Her fingers brushed over his lightly. His hand was rough and calloused. She realized with a start that she wasn't letting go of it.

"Janice Rand," she said, smiling, reaffirming her grip and shaking the man's hand.

That enchanting smile spread over his face again.

"Welcome aboard, Miss Rand. I'm Captain James Kirk."

Janice froze, still clutching his hand. Know she remembered where she knew his face from.

Captain.

James.

Kirk.

"Oh my God." she stammered.

Kirk laughed, a light and easy sound that made Janice's knees wobbly. "Not quite, Miss Rand."

Bellowed commands from across the cargo bay caught the attention of both of them then. They turned to see Chief Petty Officer Chase in the face of the Megazoid crewman, who looked positively terrified.

Kirk turned back to Janice. "I'd better go save Crewman Dax before the Chief flushes him out an airlock. A pleasure, Miss Rand. Good to have you onboard."

The Captain turned on his heel and headed toward the commotion, leaving Janice standing in the middle of the cargo bay trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach.


	2. Chance Meeting

It was over a week before Janice Rand caught herself staring into those blue eyes again.

It wasn't for lack of trying. Since the ship had left Spacedock, she'd spent a good deal of time on and off duty exploring the ship. The ship was larger than she had imagined, and even after she downloaded a deck schematic onto her tricorder, she was occasionally making wrong turns or finding new compartments. All the time, she kept an eye out for a chance to meet the Captain again.

The simple fact was, on a ship the size of the _Enterprise,_ most crewman didn't even _see_ the Captain very often. There were twenty-three decks, and not much reason for a lowly operational support crewman to visit the bridge often.

Janice didn't know why she was trying so hard to meet the Captain again. Certainly a few wild fantasies had flitted through her mind after their chance meeting in the cargo bay, but it wasn't as if any of them could come true. Best to put him out of her mind and focus on her work.

She was trying to do just that as she adjusted the power output on the _Enterprise_'s primary transporter. They had rendezvoused with three cargo ships above Starbase 10, and were waiting to beam up the base's commanding officer.

But try as she might, the Captain's smiling face kept intruding on her thoughts. His smiling face and very well-toned chest...

Commander Scott's voice jolted her out of her daydreams.

"Acknowledged, Starbase 10. Energizing."

The loud whine of the transporter filled the room, and a glowing silhouette appeared on the pad. With sure movements, Scott pulled back the levers and the shape settled into the form of a middle-aged man in command gold.

"Permission to come aboard?"

Scott rose smoothly from his seat. "Granted, Commodore Stocker. I'm Lieutenant Commander Scott, chief engineer."

The man inclined his head, a little stiffly. His eyes darted around the room quickly, taking everything in. He seemed a little shifty to Janice.

"How do you do, Mr. Scott?" Without waiting for an answer, the Commodore stepped hurriedly off the transporter pad. "If you don't mind, I'd like to head to the bridge at once."

Scott stiffened. From what Janice had heard, he was a brilliant engineer, but not to great with people.

"Certainly, Commodore. Crewman Rand here can take you there."

It took a moment for that to sink in for Janice. Hurriedly she jumped up from her seat at the back of the transporter room.

"Certainly sir. If you'll just follow me to the bridge."

Still stiff as a board, the flag officer followed Rand as she led him into the bright corridor. Janice barely noticed him as he stepped behind her into the nearest turbolift.

The Bridge.

The nerve center of the ship. It was one of the few areas of the _Enterprise _Janice had yet to set foot in. As the turbolift accelerated, her thoughts turned to bridge duty. She'd signed up the day before for Starfleet's yeoman's test. If she passed, her promotion to petty officer was guaranteed, and she'd be on the bridge much more often. Bridge duty was a prize she'd had her eye on since she'd enlisted in Starfleet. She'd finally be part of the action, in a place to prove herself. Not to mention she'd have a front row seat for the ship's travels across the universe.

As she let mind run wild with the possibilities, once again her thoughts took an unexpected turn and Jim Kirk's smiling face popped into her head.

He'd be on the bridge too.

Surreptitiously she took a step back, out Commodore Stocker's line of sight and straightened her skirt. Bringing her hand up to her hair she tried to brush her bangs off her forehead and make herself presentable. On the wall panel, she could see the tick marks disappearing as the lift neared it's destination.

5, 4, 3...

She straightened up and took a deep breath, trying to calm the butterflies that had once again awakened in her stomach.

...2, 1.

As the lift doors opened, she was already heading out onto the bridge. She led Stocker around the handrail and over to the Captain's Chair...

...where Commander Spock turned and rose smoothly.

Kirk wasn't there.

Janice tried to hide her disappointment as she came to attention.

"Commodore Stocker to see you, Cap-, er...Commander."

Spock nodded, either not noticing her verbal slip-up or ignoring it. "Thank you, Crewman. Dismissed."

"Very good, sir."

She left Spock and the Commodore to discuss mission specifics or travel times or whatever, and hurried back into the lift. Uhura offered a wave from the communications station, but Janice barely nodded in return.

She stared at the floor as she took the lift back down, heading back to the transporter room. When the doors opened she stepped out without looking, bumping into another crewmember.

A crewmember in command gold and Captain's stripes on his sleeves.

Startled she looked up and was immediately caught once more in the gaze of those clear blue eyes. She stared up at them, and the corners crinkled in amusement.

"Are you all right, Crewman Rand?"

She snapped back quickly. "Er...yes, sir. Just heading back to my post."

"Right. Scotty told me Commodore Stocker had beamed aboard. A little bit of a tool, isn't he?"

"Yes, sir. Er! What I meant was..." She covered her mouth with her hand, horrified. The Captain merely laughed.

"Relax, crewman."

Her hands dropped and she found herself meeting his easy smile with one of her own. He nodded at her and slipped past into the turbolift.

"Well, he'll be wanting to see me." The door started to close, but he caught them and poked his head back out. "By the way, I noticed your name on the upcoming Yeoman's exams. Good luck."

"Thank you, sir."

He nodded once more and stepped back into the lift. She kept staring at those blue eyes until the doors closed.

She shook her head to clear it, and headed back to the transporter room, butterflies swarming anew.


	3. Moral Support

"I told you you'd pass." Nyota said smiling near Janice's shoulder.

Janice just stood beaming in the ship's rec room, staring at the results of the yeoman's test displayed prominently on the vidscreen.

Atkins, Doris

Barrows, Tonia

Burke, Brandon

Jamal, Zahra

Landon, Martha

Rand, Janice

Closing her eyes, she let out a long, slow breath. She'd made it. From across the rec room, she noticed the ship's personnel officer approaching.

"Congratulations, Yeoman Rand," Ensign Wong said, handing her a padd. "Here's your new orders. Your new room assignment is 3F 125 on Deck 12. You'll be bunking with Yeoman Barrows."

Janice was still grinning as Wong strolled off. She said goodbye to Nyota and headed for her quarters to pack as she began to scan through the orders on the padd.

* * *

The Captain hadn't moved from his command chair since just after the fight with the Romulan ship. Around him, the members of the bridge crew were quiet as they went about their duties. It was odd. The Bridge was usually a riot of noise and activity. Now, in the wake of the battle and with shipmates missing aboard the _Sarah Spencer, _a stillness seemed to hang in the air. There were a few reports exchanged as repairs were made, but otherwise the room was uncomfortably silent.

Janice cleared her throat from behind the Captain, several padds clutched in her arms.

"Yes?"

She stepped forward and held a padd out to Kirk, "Casualty reports from Doctor McCoy, Captain."

He took the report but didn't look at it, still staring out at the expanse of the Iota Virginis system stretching out before the ship.

"Did we lose anyone?"

It had been little more than a week since Janice had become a yeoman, but the Captain had already seemed to notice her attention to detail and flawless memory. He was right, she'd already glanced at the report and quoted it without referring to her notes.

"No deaths, sir. Four crewmen from Damage Control Team Alpha are in Sickbay with second-degree burns. Lieutenants McCormack and Nagata are in still in intensive care, but the Doctor is confident they'll pull through. There are fourteen other injuries, but McCoy has deemed them minor and turned them over to Doctor M'Benga."

Kirk nodded, and turned his gaze back to the viewport. "Keep me informed."

Janice cleared her throat again, and Kirk swiveled toward her as she offered him another padd. "Update on the repairs to the warp drive from Lieutenant DeSalle, sir."

This time Kirk took the report and hurriedly began scanning through it. Janice waited patiently next to the command chair. As Kirk read, she considered the man.

She'd certainly been struck by his charm when she came aboard, and his looks certainly hadn't hurt either. In the week since she'd become a yeoman, he'd playfully flirted a few times, but she'd quickly realized he took that casual attitude with most people.

Now though, she was seeing a new side of him. With the ship in trouble and members of his crew in danger out on that freighter, he was all business. Now she was recognizing why Starfleet Command had let him keep the _Enterprise_ after the incident with the _Narada._ Whatever his command style may be, he truly cared about his ship and the people on it.

Kirk finished reading and sprang out of the command chair. He handed the reports back to Janice as he started for the turbolift.

"You're with me, Yeoman. You have the bridge, Spock."

"Aye, sir." Janice hurriedly said as she followed the Captain. He impatiently took hold of the lift handle and was already speaking as she got inside.

"Main Engineering."

He crossed his arms and stared at the level indicator as the lift took them away from the bridge. Janice glanced over at him. At the hard look in those blue eyes as the indicator counted down.

"Are you all right, sir?" she chanced.

_What are you doing!_ she thought.

Kirk was silent for a moment, still staring at the lift indicator as the car slowed and approached Main Engineering. Finally he spoke, not meeting her gaze.

"They're my responsibility, Janice." he said, startling her by using her first name. "Scotty and the others are my responsibility and I left them. I'm not resting till we have them back."

Janice nodded. "Yes, sir."

_Nothing ventured, nothing gained, _she thought. Tentatively, she reached out and put a hand on his arm. He met her gaze then, and gave her a small smile while she stared at his stunning blue eyes.

She jerked her hand away as the lift doors opened, and Kirk stormed out into Main Engineering.

"What's this about another delay, Mr. DeSalle? We have people out there..."

Janice tried to slow the heart she hadn't known had been racing, and followed her Captain.


	4. Shore Leave

"Wouldn't you rather spend some time with Spock?" Janice asked Uhura.

The two were playing cards on the _Enterprise's _recreation deck. Outside the nearest viewport, Janice had a good view of the battered freighter _Sarah Spencer_ and the world of Veridian III beyond it. The _Enterprise _had settled into orbit around the new Vulcan colony not long ago, and Janice had just come off duty after several hours of processing reports bound for the Starfleet outpost below.

Uhura smiled, eyes flicking over the cards on the table. "Spock's spending the time here visiting a...Vulcan elder."

"A Vulcan elder? Who is it?"

"Just someone he met after the business with Nero. Anyway, I don't want to spend shore leave all alone and I hear it's great down there. Plus we both need the break. What do you say?"

Janice glanced out the viewport once more. While the refugees from Vulcan had established their main settlement in an arid desert region of the planet, Starfleet had set up a small outpost and transfer station on one of the coastlines. Supposedly, the beaches were quite beautiful. Turning back to Uhura, Janice gave a small smile.

"I have a ton of work to catch up on. I'll let you know?"

* * *

"Yeoman Barrows prepared these fuel consumption reports for you to sign, sir. And Burke needs you to approve this list of personnel we'll be transferring once we make our rendezvous with the _Valiant. _As for the reports from Engineering about the repairs from-"

"How many Yeomen are aboard?"

Janice stopped mid-sentence, still holding the padd she'd been about the set in front of Captain Kirk. "I beg your pardon, sir?"

The two were in the ship's briefing room. Kirk was leaning back in a chair with his feet up on the table idly toying with a parrisses square ball, Janice standing in front of him holding a stack of padds. Swinging his feet down, Kirk offered her a roguish grin.

"How many Yeomen do we have serving onboard the _Enterprise_?"

"Um...eight, sir."

Kirk nodded, making a show of mulling the information over in his head. Standing up, he paced slowly around the conference table, tossing the ball from one hand to the other.

"Mhm," he said, "And yet...out of those eight, I've only seen you today. Why is that?"

Janice tried not to think about how sexy his smile was. She looked down at the reports in her hands.

"Um, well...Barrows, Atkins, and Burke beamed down for shore leave this morning, sir. Jamal and Landon are off duty and-"

Kirk held up a finger to silence her. Setting the ball down on the conference table, he crossed over to Janice and gently took the reports out of her hands. She tried to ignore the wobbly feeling in her knees as his fingers brushed over against hers, but failed as soon as he rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Thompson and Samno are still on duty and perfectly capable of handling anything that might come up in the next day or so, Yeoman. You've been running at Warp 10 for a week now. The ship isn't going to fall apart if you take some shore leave yourself."

She looked up and was instantly mesmerized by those blue eyes.

"Yes, sir." She replied quietly.

Kirk's smile grew even broader, and he gave her shoulder a squeeze and tucked the reports under his arm, whistling as he headed out of the briefing room.

* * *

Janice ran a hand back through her wet hair as she sat down on the sand next to Uhura. "You were right, Nyota."

The other woman smiled. "I usually am."

Clear blue water washed gently up onto the white sandy beach, and up and down the length of it, personnel from the _Enterprise_ were relaxing in the sun, splashing in the surf, or otherwise enjoying the beautiful day. Uhura and Janice had just returned from a swim and stretched out on a pair of blankets to dry off. The swimsuit she'd borrowed from Uhura was a little tight and revealed a bit more than Janice was comfortable with, but it was still relaxing to be away from the ship for a little while.

Janice stretched out on the blanket, basking in the warmth of the Veridian sun, when a shadow fell over her. Blinking up at the dark silhouette, she squinted and raised a hand to shield her eyes.

"Taking my advice, Yeoman Rand?" the shadow said.

Janice's eyes adjusted to the bright light, and a cold dread stole through her as she realized it was the Captain. He was shirtless again except for a towel draped over his shoulder, and wearing a pair of cut-off jean shorts. Janice didn't think it was possible, but to her he looked even better than the first time she had met him.

"Um...y-y-yes, sir!" she stammered awkwardly trying to roll over and snap off a salute. A smile blossomed across Kirk's face. Before he could make any comment he was interrupted by Dr. McCoy, trudging along the beach behind him. McCoy was lugging a small cooling unit, and mirrored sunglasses were perched on his nose. He saluted everyone with the open beer and his other hand as he approached.

"Ogling the crew, Jim?"

Janice barely heard Uhura's retort as she remembered the tight swimsuit she was fairly spilling out of. _Oh God, why now? _Desperately she scanned around for a towel.

"At ease, Janice." Kirk said, startling her. Looking up, she saw him putting on his own sunglasses as he and McCoy headed off. Down by the surf, she could just make out Commander Scott waving to the Captain with a few members of his engineering crew.

"It's just good to see you relax. Take care, Janice. Uhura."

Uhura smiled up from her own blanket. "Captain."

McCoy and Kirk trotted down to the surf to Scotty. Janice followed them with her gaze, and turned around to see Uhura smirking at her.

"Oh God. First Gaila, now you."

Janice blushed and smiled back, fighting with every inch of her being to keep from turning and getting another view of Jim Kirk as he dove into the surf.


	5. Captain's Yeoman

_2 years ago..._

The buzzing of the hair clippers filled eighteen-year old Janice's ears as the Starfleet barber went about her work. The woman apparently held little regard for fashion or style, and in less than a minute Janice's once long, golden hair was mostly on the floor with the commingled hair of dozens of new Starfleet recruits.

"Next!" The petty officer barked.

Janice rose out of the chair and headed for the door, filing in behind the other recruits. She reached up to stroke her hand over her new haircut. What was left was chopped short, well off the collar of her new uniform. Marching back out to the parade ground, she counted herself lucky when she caught sight of the male recruits. They'd been left with nothing more than close crew cuts. A few of the female recruits had opted for that style as well.

Janice took a deep breath as she fell into formation. The sun was reaching its peak of the Starfleet Training Center in San Francisco. It was getting uncomfortably hot, and her new uniform didn't quite fit right.

Four petty officers marched out of a nearby barracks building and began to inspect the new recruits. As they neared her squad, Janice squared her shoulders and stood proudly at attention.

She was finally here.

* * *

_The present..._

Janice stood at attention at the _Enterprise's _port airlock. Despite the convenience of the transporter, the Admiral had chosen the traditional manner of boarding a ship for inspection, and her travel pod was just finishing docking procedures after making the trip from the nearby _U.S.S. Valiant._

The loud _clunks_ of the docking clamps echoed through the hull as the pod docked. The ship's senior staff lined one side of the boarding gangway, and department heads from every section stood at attention at the other. In the center, facing the airlock Captain Kirk stood with his hands behind his back.

The airlock started to cycle open, and Janice raised her electronic bosun's whistle to her lips, blowing three long notes to announce the new arrival.

Admiral Ciana stooped as she stepped through the airlock, then straightened up as Kirk came to attention far more smartly than Janice thought he was capable of, given his usual manner.

"Permission to come aboard, Captain?" the Admiral asked.

Kirk relaxed his rigid pose and stepped forward to shake the Admiral's hand. "Permission granted, Admiral. Welcome aboard the _Enterprise._ I'd like to introduce my first officer, Commander Spock-"

Admiral Ciana held up a hand as she started down the gangway. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of time for introductions later, Captain. Right now I'd like to get the inspection underway."

Janice noticed Kirk stiffening a little. He took a deep breath before following Ciana.

"Of course, Admiral. _Enterprise..._dismissed."

The assembled officers broke up, either returning to their duty stations or gathering in small groups to discuss the arrival of the flag officer. Uhura came up beside Janice, gazing at the door the Kirk and Ciana had gone through.

"Little bit of a cold fish, huh?"

Janice smiled in return. "She can be."

* * *

_Two years ago..._

Captain Lori Ciana leaned back in the chair behind her desk, taking in the slim young recruit standing at attention before her.

"At ease, recruit."

The recruit came to parade rest, hands resting behind her back as she stared resolutely ahead. Ciana let her hang for a moment before picking up a padd from her desk.

"Not at the bottom of your class, Recruit. But you're damn close."

The young woman said nothing and continued to stare straight ahead. Glancing back at the padd, Ciana continued to read.

"So far, you've failed to qualify for advanced training in engineering, helm, and even general operations. Am I right, Recuit."

Surprisingly, the young woman's stance became even stiffer.

"Yes, sir." she answered.

"And yet," Ciana continued, "I'm reading multiple excellent commendations in your file. Original thinking. Excellent organizational and logistical skills. Well-disciplined."

"Thank you, Cap-."

"I'm not finished speaking, Recruit." Ciana said quickly. The recruit's mouth quickly snapped shut. Ciana regarded her for a long moment before speaking again.

"Why are you here, Recruit?"

"Sir?"

"I said 'Why are you here, Recruit?'"

"I...to be a Starfleet crewman, sir."

"Mhm." Ciana tossed the padd onto her desk. "Try it again. Speak freely, recruit. The truth if you please."

The young woman was silent for a minute. Her posture relaxed a bit, and her gaze fell to the floor for a moment.

"I'm from Cygnia Minor, sir."

"I'm aware of that, Recruit. It's in your file. An agricultural colony, right?"

The young woman nodded. "Yes, sir. A farmworld. My parents are farmers. Their parents were farmers. Their parents were colonists who couldn't wait to get out to the stars and be farmers."

Ciana nodded, eyes dropping back to the padd on her desk as the recruit continued.

"I wanted something better, sir. I want to see the stars. I want to make something of myself, sir."

Ciana regarded the young recruit coolly for a moment, before swiveling in her chair to face her computer. "I'm recommending you for advanced training in logistics and command support services."

The recruit's jaw dropped. "Command, Captain?"

Ciana looked up sharply. "The other options open to you are ship's janitor or back to the farm. Is that what you prefer?"

"No, sir!"

"Good. Don't flunk out this time. Keep your eye on the prize. Dismissed, Recruit Rand."

* * *

_The present..._

Janice walked into the _Enterprise's_ briefing room where Admiral Ciana had set up temporary shop. She stood at parade rest in front of the Admiral.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

Ciana didn't rise from her chair. She was silent for a moment and didn't look up from her computer screen as she spoke.

"A long way from Cygnia Minor, eh Yeoman?"

Janice smiled. "Yes, sir."

Ciana tapped the screen thoughtfully. "You earned the rate of Petty Officer three weeks ago. Only three weeks, and efficiency ratings in the departments you work with are up 34 percent."

Janice's smile grew even wider. "Yes, sir."

Ciana nodded and finally turned to face Janice. "I'm assigning you as Captain Kirk's personal yeoman."

Janice's jaw nearly dropped to the floor even as her stomach flipped end over end. "Admiral...I don't know what to say...thank-"

A wave of the Admiral's hand cut her off. "Save it, Yeoman. This isn't exactly what you think it is."

The Admiral stood and began to pace around the conference table, hands behind her back.

"James T. Kirk is a cowboy. Barely three years in the Academy and Barnett and Pike decide to give him the flagship because he got lucky. He's undisciplined, inexperienced...not even two weeks out of Spacedock and he's taken this ship into a fight with two Romulan warbirds!"

"Sir, I-"

"I'm not finished," the Admiral snapped. She stopped pacing, and leaned forward, resting her palms on the conference table. "I'm assigning the _Enterprise_ to patrol and survey duty along the frontier until I'm convinced Kirk is fit to assume regular duty. I know I can count on Commander Spock to make sure he follows regulations. What I need from you is to make sure he files his reports and logs properly, and keeps up with any new information from Starfleet Command. Can you do the job?"

Janice blinked at the Admiral, then straightened. "Yes, sir."

Ciana took her seat again at the conference table. "Very good. But that's not all. I'm well aware of Kirk's reputation, and it's cause for some concern. So I have to ask...Can you do the job and make sure your skirt stays _on?_"

Janice's eyes widened as she realized what the Admiral was implying. Her mouth fell open, but no sound came out. The Admiral leaned forward in her chair.

"Can you keep your eye on the prize, Rand?"

Janice squared her shoulders and looked Ciana straight in the eye.

"Yes Admiral I _can."_


	6. Epilogue

"Captain's log, Stardate 2258.129. Admiral Ciana has finished her inspection and the _Valiant_ is headed back to Earth. Against my protests, she has assigned the _Enterprise_ to routine survey and patrol of the outlier Alpha Quadrant sectors. We're underway now for the Xi Ophiuchi system at warp factor 5."

Kirk nodded at Janice and she snapped her tricorder shut and gave him a warm smile. Moments earlier she had watched from the bridge as the _Valiant _had warped away. In the few days since Admiral Ciana had assigned her as Captain's Yeoman, she'd given some serious thought to what the Admiral had implied.

Of course she was attracted to Jim Kirk. The man was intelligent, commanding, extremely attractive. But it was little more than lust at first sight. She was sure of it. And it wasn't as if he even had the same thoughts.

There would certainly be no problem complying with the Admiral's orders. Janice was a professional and good at her job. One of the best. In just a few days she'd made a considerable dent in the pile of paperwork Captain Kirk had built up, and complaints from Starfleet had dropped off all together.

Still, there was nothing wrong with keeping a friendly working relationship with the Captain. She wanted him to trust her, and sharing a smile now and then or a friendly touch on the arm was certainly harmless.

She began typing into her padd as she stood near the engineering station, recording minutiae of the ship's heading, power output, and speed. Stopping for a moment, she looked over at Kirk. He was seated easily in his command chair, as if it were the most comfortable place in the world for him.

For a moment her thoughts strayed. She took in his strong jaw. Glanced at his keen blue eyes. Remembered what his firm chest looked like under his gold command shirt...

Well...thoughts were quite different from actions. As long as they weren't a distraction, she thought. Janice smiled to herself and went back to her report.

* * *

Jim Kirk leaned back in his command chair and tried not to stare at his Yeoman as she went about her duties.

He'd noticed her the moment she'd entered the cargo bay back at Spacedock, but he kept telling himself it was nothing. She was smart, talented, and drop-dead gorgeous. Of course he'd have a few unholy thoughts now and again. Especially once he'd seen her in that swimsuit on Veridian III. But it certainly wasn't a distraction, and he wouldn't allow it to become one.

Over near the engineering console, Janice bent over to type in a few commands, and he noticed her skirt sliding up ever so slightly along her shapely legs. Swallowing, he turned his attention back to the viewport.

"Status, Mr. Sulu?"

"Steady on course, Captain. Warp 5."

Kirk nodded as he settled more comfortably into his chair. He nodded at Janice as she crossed to the turbolift with a padd in hand.

Certainly not a distraction.

* * *

**A/N **

**Thanks to everyone for reading. I've always like the Kirk/Rand relationship in the Original Series, and I wanted to explore how it might work in the Nu!Trek verse. I also wanted to dig into Rand's past and give her a little more dimension.**

**For the diehard Trek fans: Admiral Ciani's only appearance was in Gene Roddenberry's novelization of The Motion Picture. She was Admiral Kirk's lover and direct superior. Sadly, she died in a transporter malfunction along with Commander Sonak, Spock's replacement. The transporter operator, one Chief Petty Officer Janice Rand, was devastated.**


End file.
